Marc nodded slowly, frowning as he remembered that little tidbit. "Right... I was just thinking basement because they're easily defensible. He shook his head and sighed, though he looked up when she mentioned a fire. He almost let them know about the couple of MREs he had, but... Those were for a rainy day. It was only two or three meals, but he'd found them at the last place they'd looted. For now, he only crossed his arms and looked to his brother for a moment before his gaze went to Nick who was reading the list of medicines.

Nick nodded and folded it up, stashing the list into his pocket before grinning at Mary. "I'll getcha all kindsa medicines. Don't matter what's in there, I'll get'em."

"Nick, don't get yourself hurt man... They're needed, but don't you take any unnecessary risks, got it?"

"Yeah, yeah..." He sighed, rolling his eyes before looking at his smaller older brother. "I can handle myself man."

"I know, but you don't think sometimes."

Rena groaned and turned away from the group, doing stretches. "Are we gonna go now? Go to the town, grab the health, the weapons, whatever, I know the drill by now!" Psh. NPCs. Can't live em' Can't live without em'. She turned around, her finger out, pressing down into the air. "Start the mission already!" She groaned and turned around again, walking off alone. "I'm just nervous I'm not levelled up enough for the boss fight..."

Annie listened carefully as the others spoke about the basement and had to agree that they should avoid it. As Mary spoke about grabbing medicine, Annie nodded in agreement. "Yeah like Nick said, we got you covered."

"Yes blankets will be a good idea and if we are lucky maybe even a few sleeping bags." Cameron said before turning his attention towards Rena who was encouraging the others to start moving. "Yeah, we better start." Cameron said as he followed Rena.

Andrew nodded to each of them.
"Well get food, weapons and other supplies. You guys focus on getting medicine and supplies. Well meet up and rest in the same houses. It'll be safer." He pushed his map and belongings into his bag then pulled it onto his shoulder. It would be a long walk and a long day, but hopefully infected free. He checked over the others and headed in the direction he'd been shown by Marc. He glanced back to check where Mary was.

Of course she was behind him and of course she was checking over the others again. Emilie had gathered up her bow again and headed after them. The walk was around fifteen minutes before they hit a road and there were, thankfully, no signs of infected, although Mary could have sworn they'd been followed. Emilie had checked numerous times but thankfully no one had been found

As they walked, Nick slowed his pace a bit to walk beside Cameron and Annie. Emilie he knew sort of because she went and talked to everyone, but Cameron and Annie he'd not had a whole lot of contact with. Whether it was him bugging other people or they kept to themselves, he couldn't quite remember... But he knew enough about them, that they were pretty nice. "Sup?" He started, grinning as he looked over at Cameron, bouncing the bat on his shoulder as he looked over at the two. "How you two doin'?"

Marc however stayed near the front, always looking back and forth as he walked, using his spear as a walking stick like always. Then he remembered Rena and her rather worrying way of speaking... So he looked about for her and changed his pace to get next to her, speeding or slowing as needed. "Hey." The young man began, not quite sure how to word it before he just straight up asked. "What's all this about missions?... And boss fights?"

Rena, who had been walking at the head of the group, looked at Marc and perked up. Ah, he was such a cutie for an NPC. And he had a nice butt. She considered his words for a moment, smiling playfully. Of course NPCs don't understand that they're in a game like the main characters player; which would of course be her in the embodiment of an avatar, so she chose to be coy about it.
"Oh...you know~ The hardest of the infected to kill? I take pleasure in offing them myself. They make me feel I achieved something I suppose you could say." In other words, The boss dropped the most EXP points and she needed to do some grinding, she felt something big coming soon. She smiled at him quirkily. "Anything else you need to ask cutie?"

"Alright, sounds good." Cameron said agreeing with Andrew's statement. With his machete resting in its sheath, he kept a careful eye to make sure no unsuspecting company that would try to join them. "Hey Nick." Cameron said with a smile as the other teen in the group joined the two of them. Although Nick could be a little reckless at times, Cameron had a positive outlook of the teen. "Traveling around like this isn't as fun as salmon fishing on the river but I guess I can't complain seeing that I'm alive and all."

"Hey." Annie said giving a slight wave to Nick as he joined her and Cameron. Although she was glad to have someone similar in age as her, she often avoided spending extra time than necessary talking to him. It wasn't that she hated him, rather it was the opposite as a small crush started to form a few weeks after she met him. Deciding both not to reveal her feeling and not to get caught up in those same feelings especially with the way the world was like, she did her best to suppress how she felt about him. "Doing alright I guess. Emilie said she'll teach me how to shoot her bow so I'm excited about that. How about you, how's the apocalypse treating you?"

Speaking off teaching, Emilie was going to keep her eyes out for another bow. It was unlikely that they'd find one but it certainly wasn't impossible. She'd go over the basics once they were out of the woods, maybe even tonight, though they'd need a target; shooting straight into wood killed an arrow. It was odd to think they hadn't come across an infected since the university, especially considering just how many there had been. Emilie adjusted her bag again, pulling out a water bottle, and drinking half of what was left. Part of her was dreading the highway, the infected were going to be here, it was once a popular place, though there would be even more in the town.
"I never took you for a fisherman." Emilie commented, holding her rucksack strap to busy her hands.

Up front, Andrew walked ahead, one hand on his pistol, the other wrapped tightly around the woman he loved. He'd lose her one day. Yet he didn't want to live without her. She wouldn't be able to fight the fungus, no one did. No one. He turned to look at Marc when he asked his question, possibly stepping too far to ask about Rena's own sanity. Regardless, she didn't seem insulted, thankfully.
"Whatever keeps you sane." Mary added, smiling at Rena. It was true, everyone had a way of seeing the infected, they killed you otherwise.

**ill get us to the highway in the next post unless someone else wants to**

"Yeah, I understand that I guess... Until I joined the army I never really understood feeling accomplished..." Mark sighed a little, looping the thumb of his left hand into a belt loop as he walked. "But that makes sense, you had me a little worried." He laughed, grinning as he looked over at her. "We'll all have something to feel real accomplished about when this is all done with now won't we? Hopefully we can find a FOB or something... Uh, forward operating base since you probably didn't know. It's where a military unit operates from when doing things... It'd have plenty of food and weapons if it's not been looted. Vehicles, everything we'd need really." The man looked to Mary then and shrugged a little bit. "You ask me... The sane people were the ones who couldn't believe what was going on and were infected... You've gotta be crazy to survive all this."

Nick just laughed and shrugged, rolling his eyes. " 'Course it ain't as fun as something like fishing man." He began, still bouncing the bat on his shoulder. "And I can't complain any more than you guys, really... And it shouldn't be too hard to find a bow. Betcha I'll find like three of'em... Ya know, Marc was supposed to teach me how to throw knives a couple days after we had to leave home... But we had to leave his set there." A little sigh flowed from between his lips then before he continued. "They were nice too, real simple and balanced. Marc could smack someone in the chest with'em 'bout all the time... Well, the target... Those'd be something real nice to have now. Easier to carry 'round than a bow ya know?... Hey Emilie, can you throw knives?"

“I was raised on fishing and hunting for as long as I can remember. My dad’s influence was still strong part of my life even after moving to Washington State.” Cameron said, responding to Emilie with a slight smile on his face. “Regular fishing can be fun and all but it’s nothing compared to salmon fishing. Its real battle between you and the fish as both of you are fighting against each other. The pinkies were difficult but I tell you what, they’re nothing compared to the kings. Those devils are massive and will snatch your rod right out of your hand or even break it if you’re not careful. If we ever make our way to the northwest after all of this is over, I’ll show you what real fishing is like Nick.”

“That probably could work too.” Annie said as she listened to Nick as he spoke about using knives to throw. “I would have to make sure the knives are sharp enough and make sure I get enough momentum to cause enough damage. Right now either would be nice to use, maybe even a gun. Although I’d have to be careful of how loud it is around the infected.” Looking off in the distance, Annie thought she could see a glimpse of the freeway just around the corner. Using her binoculars, she was glad to see that her assumption was right. “Hey guys, we’re almost at the freeway. Be prepared for the infected because they might be right around this corner here.”

Rena ticked her head to the side, looking both from Marc, to Mary and back again with a dead serious, and somewhat angry look on her face. "I'm not crazy you know."
She had said it stoicly, her voice cold like ice and her hand on her ice pick. They were wrong to question her. Fucking NPCs. When no one was looking, she'd try to kill them. Unless they were unkillable NPCs. She hated those. Especially the annoying ones. Slowly the grin returned to her face, making it look like she was just joking and merrily jogged ahead. But she hadn't let it go. In her mind, all she could think was...
NPCs are replaceable.
She turned her head around, smiling and waving. "I'll go on ahead, find a clear path 'round the Zambies!"

She could understand his love of water, or well the things that lived in it. There was something free about water, how you could move in it, manipulate it, how it felt and how it moved. She had spent many a watch trying to remember dive patterns, hoping so hard to be able to do it just once more again. She looked up to Nick and shook her head.
"I've never tried. The bow was something I had to learn quickly, I would be awful with knives." Two brown eyes and five fingers flicked to the highway and tightened their grip around the bow. She laced an arrow gently into the knocking point and let it relax in the string. It was there if she needed it.
"Best to keep your voice down from here."

Andrew had pretty much said the same thing. He turned to acknowledge Annie's remark and hushed the group around him. The infected didn't walk like they had in movies. These things ran. There was no going back if they heard you. They could talk, easily, just quietly. The last thing they needed was infected at their heels. If there were stalkers, well, they had to be quiet.
"I didn't mean to insult you. Everyone has ways of keeping themselves sane, otherwise we'd all be crazy." Mary added, trying to correct her mistake and relieve the tension that had arisen before the group and Rena. "That's true. The sane people are all dead now."

"Real fishing, eh?" Nick remarked with a smirk, cocking his eyebrow. "Sounds like fun..." He only nodded though when Annie replied and lowered the wooden bat from his shoulder to grip it firmly with two hands. "I ain't scared of some overgrown mushrooms..." Was his muttered reply to Emilie and Annie as he sped his pace just a little bit. They were a ways away, that could always change very quickly.

Marc, a little... Disturbed by Rena's icy voice and the fact she actually grabbed for her weapon disturbed him a little... But he shook his head and sighed, cursing himself inwardly for being paranoid. Though he looked up at mention of the infected and adjusted the grip he had on his spear, ready to defend himself. He slowed down a little bit then, looking back to see where Nick was.

Pulling his machete out of it's sheath, Cameron continued walking as he kept a careful eye on Annie who was sticking very close to him and the others. Putting his hand on the girl's shoulder, Cameron gave a small squeeze and a smile to reassure the girl before continuing. He didn't have to tell the girl to stay close, she would be whether he liked it or not. As they rounded the corner, he could only spot two infected that barred their way. Knowing that Rena or one of the others would handle them as the two started to make their way towards them, Cameron kept his eyes open for any other infected, ready to attack if either of them or another infected got to close.

Grasping tightly to her knife until her knuckles turned white, Annie stayed where she believed the safest place in the group was, in the middle of the others. As she saw the two infected up ahead, she nervously kept up with the group as she fought the urge to run. There was only two infected and from the looks of it, neither were clickers. There wasn't too much to worry about, knowing that the group has handled more than this but she was still nervous seeing the infected. Thinking back to what Nick said, she wished she could be like him and not be afraid of the infected or even like Rena who seemed to enjoy the thrill of the battle. However unlike those two and the others in the group who seemed to handle things well, she was a coward and hated it.

"Careful Rena!" Annie yelled at the woman who was jogging ahead, concerned about her wellbeing. They were almost at the town and losing someone right before they reached the town would be bad for the group.

Seeing one of the infected up ahead, Rena smirked and flipped out her ice pick. She ran right up to the thing, jamming it straight through the ear canal. The other one, hearing the noise, started running at her. She ducked, just as it got up next to her, causing it to trip over her body as she took the ice pick from the head of the first one she killed. She leapt back to allow others the honors.

Andrew pulled his pistol from his waist and slowed down. He would keep the group to enter and get them into the town alive and healthy. He needed everyone to stay close. However, seeing Rena run ahead, he couldn't help but panic. She could handle herself, he knew that, yet he was afraid. She was fearless, yes, and they needed that. They needed that fearlessness from someone. He could feel Mary step closer, walking behind him closely. The woman looked behind to the others, passing a smile to Annie and her companion. Yet hearing the same girl yell, provided a visible flinch on the part of Andrew. They didn't need that.

Emilie kept her fingers tight, ready to pull out her string at any moment. By the looks of things there were only two. The thought of Stalkers were fresh in her mind, always. Once her feet met the road, she glanced down the opposite side of the highway and saw nothing. It was neither a blessing or a curse.
"Perhaps we should hurry towards the town. There may be others there." She muttered, jogging up towards Andrew and the others. "If anyone sees us coming from a distance, there's a high possibility we won't be welcome."

"If we're worried about not being welcome, we shouldn't be taking the road then..." Marc muttered, stepping forward to spear the infected on the ground as they passed by. It made a small gurgling sound, before it stopped its thrashing and went still. He pointed forward, gesturing to each side of the small suburban area. "We can split off into our groups now... Use the road passing through town as a rendezvous point later after we've done a little more scouting. That is... If we want to take a slight increase on the risk of infected attack and lower our chances of being gunned down by someone very paranoid or bandits..." He sighed then, not really sure which he'd do to be honest, more than likely just speed up. He didn't much like the idea of going out in the tall grass, but options were options and every choice should be considered.

Nick had slowed back down by Cameron and Annie, and turned his head when she yelled, scowling. "Be quiet... You really think yelling is a good idea Annie?...." The young man scolded, turning his attention forward once again. Maybe he was a bit headstrong and rushed into things, but he knew what to do to stay on the down low.

Wincing at the sound of Annie yelling, Cameron gave a disapproving look towards the girl. After all this time on the move he would have thought that she would have known the potential consequences of an outburst such as that. Acting out like that could bring danger or worse if she wasn't careful. He would talk to her later but for now there were more important matters at hand. Nick's remarks towards the girl would have to be sufficient for now until there was some downtime. Nodding in agreement to Emilie's remark of speeding up. Road or not, the group would be susceptible to humans or infected if not both whichever way the group chooses. "Although we might avoid anyone we meet if split up and leave the road now but I'd say we stick as a group as long as possible since there's strength in numbers. However, let's not stay out in the open any longer than necessary to bring any unneeded attention towards up.Speaking of that, if possible we should avoid using guns unless it's necessary for now so that we don't make any unneeded sounds until we know what all is out there."

"Well I...umm" Annie muttered, knowing that she made a mistake once her words escaped her lips. Although in hindsight she knew that her actions was a stupid one, she wished she would have thought of that before opening her mouth but knew that it was too late, she couldn't take back her actions. Between Andrew and Cameron's reaction and Nick's confrontation, the guilty feeling she already had felt intensified. "I'm sorry, I-I should have known better. Don't worry it won't happen again." She said to Nick, trying to keep her tone leveled and steady as she tried not to reveal how bothered she was by his comment.

((Moving us towards the town more, within splitting distance.))

Andrew winced with each comment and he pushed the group forwards. His hand remained gripped on both his wife and his pistol. He couldn't lose her. If he had to sacrifice everyone else to save her, he'd doom the world to do it. Looking over at her, she seemed almost upset by the harsh reactions to Annie's mistake. It wasn't her fault. She was looking out for her friends more than anything.
"She'll be fine". Andrew smiled, climbing over one car, then turning to help his wife.

They walked quietly for some time before choosing to stop. They could see the first of many houses, and luckily, so far, no infected. However, it was neither a good sign nor a bad sign.
"I suggest we split here. Make it in towards those two houses-" the ones he pointed to were adjacent on either side of the street, both equal in height, room number and value. Everything looked peaceful. "-and we set up camp in the first on the left. Nick's group takes the left, well take the right."

Nick nodded and smiled before he split off, letting the bat lean back on his shoulder in a relaxed position once more. He looked back and gestured for the other two, cracking his neck as he turned just slightly to make sure the others were with him. "Let's go crack some skulls." The young man muttered, snickering to himself while he made his way to the targeted home. After a few minutes of walking, he was peering in the windows, checking for infected. While he couldn't see any in the dim home, there was no real way to be sure. Slowly, he made his way to the door and then waited for Annie, Emilie, and Cameron to be ready.

Marc griped his spear firmly and continued forward, keeping pace on Andrew's side, opposite the other man's wife. He inhaled slowly and looked to the left, watching his brother for a moment before returning his attention to what lay ahead. Couldn't worry about Nick right now, now could he? Little busy for that.